Ivory in its natural state is quite porous. The ivory must first be polished in order to close up the pores so when ink is applied to the tooth, it only fills the engraved lines and does not cloud the surface of the ivory. For the initial rough sanding I use a homemade sander powered by a 1/3 horsepower dryer motor. This is the only power tool that I use in my work. It saves hours of time polishing, which is much better spent on the engraving. The motor turns the sanding disc at low rpm’s so as not to burn the ivory.
 

   fig. 2 - attached to ivory, pencil side  down





   fig. 3 - tracing transferred to ivory


 

   fig. 4 - transferred lines are strengthened


 

  fig. 5 - rubbing ink into lightly cut lines


 

   fig. 6 - wiping ink off surface

 

 
  fig. 7 - completed piece
 

If sanding a raw tooth or any piece with a very rough surface I start with 50 grit paper. This takes down ridges very quickly. If the surface is relatively smooth to begin with I start with 120-grit paper, and then on to 220-grit paper. The ivory is next sanded by hand using the 220-grit paper. This is the most time consuming step as it can take several hours, depending upon the size of the piece, to get a nice satiny finish. It's important to take your time and not hurry. Spots missed in haste will only have to be re-done. Finally, the piece goes back to the power wheel where it is buffed with two jewelry polishing compounds, bobbing compound first and then fabuluster. A separate polishing buff is used for each compound. This gives the ivory the highly polished surface that I prefer to work on. I’m very careful at all stages of the polishing process  to not let the ivory get too hot. Overheating can make the ivory brittle and difficult to engrave, and at worst burn it, leaving an unsightly mark that cannot be removed. When the piece begins to get warm in one spot I move to an area on the opposite side.

Once satisfied with the polishing, the drawing stage begins. Simple drawings are done directly on the ivory surface with a #8008 Stabilo pencil (writes on anything!). Complicated drawings are first worked up on paper, scaled and copied to fit the ivory. The outlines of the copy are then traced in reverse onto a piece of tracing paper using a light table (fig.1). For this step I use a 2B Sanford Turquoise lead held in a Staedtler Mars #780 mechanical pencil. Any soft lead will do as long as it will transfer to the ivory surface. This tracing is then attached pencil side down to the ivory (fig.2), and the lines are rubbed over vigorously with an ordinary no.2 pencil to transfer them to the ivory surface (fig.3).

These faint lines are then strengthened with the Stabilo pencil. Usually when working on a nautical subject on a whale's tooth, the drawing has to be corrected in several areas to compensate for the compound curves of the tooth's surface. Finally the drawing is sprayed with a workable fixative so it won’t rub off as I engrave (fig.4). The best brand of workable fix to use is made by Blair, Very Low Odor Workable Matte Spray Fix. It can be found online or at your local art supply. Only a light spray is needed to protect your drawing and it is easily removed.

At this point begins the actual engraving. A #16 X-acto blade is used for most of the line work, and a common household sewing needle held in a pin-vice for all of the stipple work. The outlines are lightly cut with the #16 blade. When all the outlines have been cut, I wipe the fixative off using a folded tissue moistened with rubbing alcohol (this ease of removal is why the Blair Workable Fix is better than any other brand). The lines are then inked (fig.5). I've tried several brands of India ink and prefer Koh-I-Noor Universal Drawing Ink #3080.  The ink is wiped off with a soft, folded paper towel. The towel is moistened with water and blotted to get rid of excess water. I then use the 'magic ingredient', a little spit on the towel. This really helps cut through the rapidly drying ink, and makes it easier to remove (fig.6).  Once the surface ink is gone, the inked engraved lines show up strongly against the polished ivory surface. Most times the lines have to be inked twice in order to fill them all the way up.

Once satisfied with the lightly engraved outlines, the long process of rendering the subject begins. As the work progresses, closest attention is paid to the values (the relative lights and darks) in the piece. Line work is done using a cross-hatching technique to build up the values. I like to ink constantly as I work to check the progress. It's not unusual to ink a piece hundreds of times before it’s complete. If you have questions about any of the above please send me an email through my 'contact' link.         
~ Robert Weiss

P.S. Contrary to what some people evidently believe, I am not just sitting by the computer blithely waiting for emails to arrive so I can then spend my day answering questions. It takes time and that's time away from my work. If you have a question I am happy to answer. It may take a few days to do so, but I will answer. All I ask in return is a simple courtesy, a reply with at least a "thank you".

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